Smart Meters Increasing EMF Exposure

KTVB’s Verify news reporter Tami Tremblay aired a report on Feb. 9th regarding EMF radiation (electromagnetic field) after HFI and Be EMF Safe hosted a documentary film about EMF radiation, “Generation Zapped”. It was inspiring and progressive to see KTVB willingness to take a look into this very important and highly debatable issue. The report was a fairly balanced assessment and did shed some light on the topic and pointed out that there are some possibly harmful effects of increasing amounts of manmade EMF radiation exposure. Besides using the Neutralizer and Smartdot for possible protection against EMF radiation, the report also offered several other ways for safer use of EMFs including: turning off the wi-fi when not in use, putting your cell phone in “airplane mode” when not using it and limiting the amount of time your family uses tablets when connected to wi-fi. We know they can’t fit everything in to a short segment so wanted to provide you with resources from Eric Brandt, of Be EMF Safe. This will provide you additional means of protections and resources to continue your research.

HOW CAN YOU TELL THE AMOUNT OF EXPOSURE?

The main way to determine what the EMFs are in an area, such as ones house or office, is to use EMF meters for measuring the four commonly known sources of EMF radiation. They are Electric, Magnetic, RF or Radio Frequency and Dirty Electricity. By using these meters a person can scientifically see, and sometimes hear, the EMF’s coming off of the device or in the area. Once one knows what the EMF levels are you can then work with how best to protect yourself by getting the right distance between the source and yourself or shielding yourself from it in some way. Or, you can stop using wifi based cell and cordless phones, Smart Meters and other wifi devices completely. An easy fix is switching over to using an ethernet cord for your computer internet service and utilizing wired landline phones.

One big source of RF radiation are the digital “Smart Meters” that have been installed and are replacing the older analog meters throughout the US and Canada. Many states the power companies demand that people accept the change to Smart Meters with little to no option to 'opt out'. This is true for Idaho, Idaho Power says there are no options to OPT OUT of smart meters. In other states when there has been enough public outcry, power companies have reversed their decisions and allow customers to opt out of smart meters only if they pay additional fees/fines. (See Smart Meter Controversy Nevada)

The Controversies

Smart meters have blamed for health issues, fires, increased bills, and invasion of privacy. The main health concerns center around the high RF radiation 'smart meters' emit intermittently, which has been a source of suffering, to varying degrees, for some being closely exposed to their radiation. Not everyone is effected the same and many people don’t realize the connection between their unpleasant health symptoms and the quite possible source for that disease being due to the EMFs around them.

Other key issues concerning these Smart Meters are that they have tended to catch on fire at times - one just did here in the valley that I just heard about. One never knows when that could happen and it’s safer to have the old analogue meters. See - Smart Meter Fires and Explosions

Another issue is that the Smart Meters are quite invasive in their ability to track the use of every electronic device connected to that meter. The ‘’collecting” of this usage data can be and is being used by companies, without the consent of those who are being “gleaned”. A lot of people prefer to have some degree of privacy in their personal spaces.

Stop OC Smart Meters -- Local Orange County (California) initiativeTo read and contribute your comment to a Yahoo chat group on this topic that one of the members of Stop OC Smart Meters has set up, clickhere.

Stop Smart Meters -- Joshua Hart's organization in Northern CaliforniaSample Letter to Utility -- From Stop Smart Meters. Use to try to opt out before a smart meter is installed and to keep your analaog meter

Center for Safer Wireless -- Based in Virginia. The Center hosted the Wireless Safety Summit in October and will have audio and video of that conference available in December. Attendees met with their congressional delegations. As a result, "We have drafted a letter from Members of Congress to the US Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin, asking her to investigate and issue health advisories concerning the potential adverse health effects due to nonionizing electromagnetic radiation from wireless communications technologies."

SHIELDING YOUR FAMILY FROM EMF SMART METER RADIATION

We can't OPT OUT Of smart meters in Idaho, however you can shield yourself from your smart meter, at least to some extent.

According to Oram Miller, it turns out that the diffusion pattern of the 900 MHz radio signal that communicates with neighboring smart meters on nearby houses as part of the neighborhood (mesh) area network (NAN)is 90% outwards from the smart meter and only 10% behind it back into the house. Furthermore, the metal backing of the large metal box that the electric meter is mounted upon affords good shielding and effectively blocks most frequencies from coming indoors straight through the wall.

The net effect of a) having only a small portion of the major radio transmission aimed into the house, b) the natural reduction in field strength of any radio signal with distance, and, c) the shielding effect of metal, all results in more than a 90% reduction in the signal strength that I measure indoors compared with the readings at the same distance from the smart meter outdoors, without any additional shielding. The reading at 1-2 feet inside the wall indoors is generally 300 or so microWatts per meter squared. When I move six to eight feet further inside from the exterior wall, my radio frequency meter drops closer to less harmful exposure levels of 30-40 uW/m2 (we consider readings below 10 microWatts per meter squared to be safe for sleeping areas for all people except the most electrically-sensitive).

If this is your bedroom, however, you don't want microbursts of radio waves with a field strength of a few hundred microWatts per meter squared pulsing into your sleeping area day and night every ten to fifteen seconds.

Options to reduce exposure: Until you can opt out of the smart meter program altogether, you want to either sleep in another room or add additional shielding in order to further reduce your exposure to these radio frequencies.

This would include the use of any of the fabrics or non-toxic carbon-based paints sold by the retailers linked to below. These may be necessary, depending upon your level of sensitivity, even if you can opt out because radio frequencies can still enter your bedroom from smart meters on neighbors' homes, particularly through the glass in windows.

A more affordable, though less aesthetically pleasing alternative, at least temporarily, to shielding fabrics and paint is to use several layers of aluminum foil or several sheets of a thermal blanket sold for $4 at any sporting goods store. Place these on the inside of the wall that the smart meter is mounted upon. It is best to ground these with an alligator clip patch cord to the earth. The "gator to plug" patch cord is sold by Less EMF.

The best way to shield a smart meter, however, that I have seen is to use a Smart Meter Guard, sold by an engineer in Northern California for $129. It is well worth the cost. Made with a fine mesh screen on the sides and front, it fits easily over your smart meter and is tightened down with a screwdriver. The mesh guard is grounded to the metal box that the smart meter is mounted upon, increasing its RF-shielding effectiveness.

The manufacturer has a YouTube video on his website showing how much attenuation (weakening or lessening) of the RF signal strength this shield is actually capable of achieving, which is impressive. It drops from an average of 54,000 microWatts/meter squared (uW/m2) down to below 60 uW/m2